Stolen handgun found during Cheektowaga traffic checkpoint

Cheektowaga police officers on foot patrol arrested a man who had a loaded, stolen handgun in his waistband, town police reported Tuesday.

Officers Scott Leising and Mike Smith were participating in a traffic checkpoint Sunday evening at Pine Ridge Road and Walden Avenue when they stopped a SUV for a broken brake light and other, unspecified violations of vehicle and traffic law.

While speaking to the driver, the officers smelled burning marijuana, a police department spokesman said. A passenger was found with a loaded 40-caliber handgun in his waistband. The gun had been reported stolen in Raleigh, N.C. this past January.

Lorenza Hinton, 35, of Kerns Avenue, Buffalo, was charged with two weapons-related felonies and a violation count of unlawful possession of marijuana. He also was wanted in North Carolina for violating probation on another gun-related charge, police said.

Following arraignment before Town Justice Dennis Delano, who set bail at $250, Forrest was taken to the Erie County Holding Center. Authorities in North Carolina are seeking extradition, police said.